E-Tender Number RBI/Bengaluru/HRMD/1/26-27/001-E Tender ID-2026_RBI_292123_1 Pre-bid meeting for the captioned tender was conducted as per the schedule on September 29, 2026, at 11.00 AM in Lecture Hall at 2nd floor of the RBI Bengaluru. The meeting was chaired by Shri Sibu Prasad Mishra, Assistant General Manager, ABCC, RBI Bengaluru. List of participants are as indicated below: (a) List of Bank’s Officials who attended the meeting | S.No | Name (Shri/Smt) | Designation | | 1 | Sibu Prasad Mishra | Assistant General Manager | | 2 | Pradeepa M | Assistant Manager | | 3 | Vilas V Gopal | Assistant Manager | | 4 | Akash Bharat Patil | Assistant | | 5 | Rajesh B Y | Assistant | (b) List of Chartered Account Firm representatives who attended the meeting | SL. NO | Firm Name | Name Of the Representative | | 1 | P Srinivas & Co | R.B. Mahesh | | 2 | Abarna & Ananthan | N. Sundarrajan | | 3 | V K Niranjan & Co | B Manikya Prakash | | 4 | NSC Nagdeep | Srinivasan J | | 5 | NSC Sathyanarayan & Co | Jawhar Lal Sinha | | 6 | M/S Vijaypanchappa & Co | Anjani Bai & Srushti Guren | | 7 | R Singhwi & Associates | Renu Dafne | | 8 | Ramraj & Co | R Mayuri Rao | | 9 | TSMT | Rohit C D & Pushkar Matiar | | 10 | MRV Krishna & Co | Pavithra S | | 11 | SPR & Co | Sanjay & Ravishankar m | | 12 | Subek Agarwal & Associates | Subek Agarwal | | 13 | BMSS & Co | U Prasad |
| Sl. No. | Query | Bank’s Clarification | | a. | What are the various stages of bidding and on what basis is the technical evaluation done? | Pls refer to Section – VII(Para-1) and Section VIII(Para-3.I) of the captioned tender document. The appointment methodology comprises a two-stage process, involving technical and financial bidding, with separate evaluation for the two stages and a qualifying criterion in the technical evaluation. Technical evaluation is done based on the score assigned in respect of various parameters as detailed in Annex-1 of the tender document. Firms securing 60 or more marks (out of 100) in technical bid only will be eligible for the next stage of financial evaluation. | | b. | Please explain the methodology of financial evaluation. | Pls refer to the Section-VII (Para-vii) on Evaluation Criteria of the captioned tender document. The second stage will be the opening of the financial bids of the firms that have qualified in the technical evaluation. The following formula shall be used to normalise the scores considering L1 as base.
Score under the financial evalution x =
Lowest Financial Bid Amount L1 x 10
Financial Bid Amount x
The final evaluation will be done by combining the marks secured in the technical and financial evaluation in the ratio of 70:30 with the bidder obtaining the highest total marks becoming eligible for appointment. | | c. | How does the office arrive at the criteria for evaluation and the remuneration amount for carrying out the audit process? | The evaluation criteria are centrally determined and have been standardized across all Regional Offices to ensure uniformity and fairness. Similarly, the remuneration structure is also established by the Central Office, aligning with organizational policy, market benchmarks, and the scope of audit responsibilities. | | d. | Whether the requirement regarding the number of staff and Chartered Accountant as been mentioned? | Pls refer to the Section-VIII (Para 7) of the captioned tender document. The selected firm must deploy a minimum prescribed team: 1 Chartered Accountant + 5 Skilled Staff for Bengaluru Regional Office, and 1 Chartered Accountant + 7 Skilled Staff for Samadhan HR Ops. This staffing structure is mandatory to ensure adequate capacity, technical expertise, and operational efficiency. | | e. | What if the staff deployed is not able to continue due to some exigencies? Can the firm replace the staff with another one? | Pls refer to the Section-VIII (Para 8) of the captioned tender document. Under all circumstances, it should be ensured that each of the members are deployed in the Bank on a continuous basis for at least a period of six months. In normal course, the team deployed by the firm should not be shuffled, but only under extreme exigencies, and even in such situations, it should be ensured that the entire team as mentioned above, are replaced in a staggered manner with a minimum gap of one (01) month with similar skill set and experience. However, in exceptional or unforeseen exigencies replacement may be permitted — provided that replacements are made in a staggered manner, with a minimum gap of one (01) month between any personnel change.
These safeguards ensure minimal disruption to audit quality and compliance. | | f. | As per para 4.2, of the Hindi version of the Draft Articles of Agreement, there is a variation in the number of skilled staff requirement in Hindi version. | It was clarified that the discrepancy in the Hindi version regarding the number of skilled staff is an inadvertent error. The number of skilled staff is as mentioned in the English version of the tender. Attention was drawn to Page 1 of the tender document which explicitly stipulates: “For all purposes, understanding and interpretation of any and all contents of this document, the English version shall prevail.” | | g. | Whether separate remuneration will be provided for handling tax notices and appeals? | Pls refer to the Taxation Section (Para-5) of the captioned tender document.
No separate remuneration will be provided for handling tax notices, appeals, or related matters. Such activities — including responding to tax notices, providing clarifications, attending IT/GST audit proceedings, and preparing submissions — are explicitly included within the scope of the audit services as defined in the tender. Therefore, these responsibilities are considered integral to the audit assignment and are covered under the agreed remuneration. | | h. | Whether separate remuneration can be quoted for RO and Samadhan HROps? | Yes. As the tender itself is structured as a two-price-point tender, separate prices can be quoted for each of them. | | i. | Whether laptops can be carried by the auditors? | Auditors will be provided with desktop PCs at the office premises for conducting their day-to-day audit tasks. However, in exceptional cases, auditors may be permitted to carry laptops — subject to:
• Prior written approval from the concerned official
• Compliance with RBI’s IT security and data confidentiality policies.
• Use of only organization-approved devices with installed security protocols.
Unauthorized use or removal of laptops is strictly prohibited. | | j. | How many days in a week should the auditors be present at the office? | Auditors are required to be physically present at the office on all working days as defined by the RBI calendar. | | k. | Whether there is any number that can be contacted in case of any queries while applying uploading the documents required regarding the tender? | Pls refer Section A- Registration of the captioned tender document. For any queries related to the tender application process, document submission, or technical issues during upload, applicants may contact the numbers provided in the tender document. | | l. | Whether MSEs are exempted from deposit of EMD at the time of submission of bids? | As per our internal guidelines, “The Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) having Udyam Registration Number (Udyog Aadhar Memorandum Number), irrespective of the category, shall be exempted from the requirement of submission of Earnest Money Deposit at the time of bidding in all procurement of works (goods, services, and works contract) estimated to cost upto Rs. 10 Lakh (including all taxes, duties, etc.).” Since the tender amount exceeds ₹ 10 lakhs, all firms are required to mandatorily deposit EMD. | | m. | Whether the quote may be submitted including the period of reappointment ? | The quote may initially be submitted for a period of 11 months only. For the reappointment period, the same terms, conditions, pricing, and scope as agreed upon during the initial appointment shall automatically prevail. The same quote will apply for the re-appointment as detailed at Section- VIII (Para 6.II) of the captioned tender document. | 3. It was further insisted that both technical and financial bids are to be entered and uploaded separately in CPP portal and in case where financial bids are submitted along with technical bids, applications will be summarily rejected. 4. The meeting concluded at 12:00 PM. |
|